What Are the Most Pirated TV Shows?

Game of Thrones has the dubious title of being the most pirated television show this spring, with more than 5 million people downloading the Season 3 premiere alone, according to TorrentFreak. The number of overall downloads for the HBO hit was up 25 percent over last year. Interestingly, Game of Thrones'ratings increased by about the same percentage this season from legal views.

David Petrarca, the show's director, previously told TorrentFreak he isn't bothered by the show's popularity among pirates. The "cultural buzz" generated from such views is "how [shows] survive," he said.

The numbers used to compile the list do not include online streaming and cyberlocker downloads, which cannot be measured accurately — meaning that the actual number of illegal viewers is higher than that included in TorrentFreak's list.